Work Text:
ONE.
"Neil," Stuart called, knocking lightly on the bedroom door. "Kevin's here for you."
Neil was lying in bed, even though his alarm went off a couple of hours ago. He'd been hitting the snooze button, drifting away into a half-sleep, listening to his heartbeat, breathing in and out as slowly as he could: all the regular steps he took to ground himself, steady himself. They had a long two days ahead of them, and Neil felt shivery all over with anticipation.
"Tell him I'll be down in twenty," Neil called back, his voice coming out all whispery. Stuart lingered for a second, and Neil hoped he wouldn't push it. Retreating footsteps and silence followed, so Neil jumped out of bed and headed for the shower.
The routine of getting ready made him calm down a bit, but he was still torn between swooping excitement and draining anxiety, which meant his stomach wouldn't really settle. He smoothed down the front of his Exycast t-shirt, hoping it didn't look too crumpled. Kevin would kill him if it did.
He made his way downstairs, picking up his already-packed duffel bag on the way. He pushed open the kitchen doorway and found Stuart pouring tea for Kevin and David. They were all laughing at some joke or other, and even though he'd seen similar scenes more than a few times now, the sight was still a bit surprising. His uncle, Kevin's father, and Kevin were gossiping away like school kids, buttering scones and sipping his uncle's finest loose leaf tea. Neil hovered awkwardly at the door, not wanting to disturb their cheery chatter.
"Get your ass in here, Josten," David called, when he noticed Neil staring at them.
Neil wandered over to the table and sat down. He grabbed a scone and started buttering it, ignoring Kevin, who was glaring at him.
"Didn't you iron your t-shirt?" Kevin asked.
Neil ignored him.
"Who cares about the state of his wardrobe," David said, slapping his son on the back. "You two are award-winning podcast creators now."
"We haven't won anything yet," Neil grumbled.
"Award-nominated, then," David corrected himself.
They'd gotten the letter last week. They'd been nominated for best newcomer in the podcast category at the National AV Awards. If someone had told Neil that he'd one day be in consideration for an award when he'd joined Greenacre, he would have laughed in their face. Since he had joined Kevin to work on Exycast, however, their audience had grown and grown. The cherry-on-top, perhaps, was that one of their episodes had gone viral (much to Nicky's excitement). In the episode, Kevin and Neil had predicted the entire run of the Capercailies season, right down to points won and lost and their eventual win. It had been all over the Exy websites: Two High School Kids Predicted Entire Capercailies Season Months Before Season Stared with links to their Soundcloud page. Over the weeks that followed, the episode in question garnered nearly one hundred thousand hits. Then, the award nomination.
Neither Kevin nor Neil had submitted Exycast for consideration. Looking over the letter with wide eyes, Neil had told Kevin it must have been David, but Kevin's gaze immediately slid over to Andrew, who was sitting reading Monstrrr submissions and ignoring the pair of them.
Since the award ceremony was in Columbia, they had to travel there and stay overnight. David was letting Kevin drive his car, and he and Stuart had booked them into a fancy hotel room. Neil tried to eat his scone, but he was too shook-up to eat. He hadn't started feeling truly nervous until that morning. The fact they were actually going made it real. Part of him wanted to stay home and go back to bed. A much larger part, however, was excited. He and Kevin had thrown everything they had into the podcast. They deserved a win. It would be the perfect end to the school year.
"Shall we head off?" Kevin asked, looking at his watch.
"Sure," Neil replied, sliding off his stool and following Kevin outside.
"Remember to drive safely, please, Kevin," Stuart was saying, handing Neil a flask of tea.
"Of course, Mr. Hatford," Kevin replied, offering Stuart his most award-winning smile as he slung his and Neil's bags into the car.
"Thanks for letting us use your car," Neil mumbled, looking at David.
"Think of it as an early graduation present," David said. "Just so you know, I'm really proud of you. Both of you."
Neil felt his cheeks heat up.
"Dad-" Kevin began.
"No, you've both worked so hard," David went on. "It's amazing just to be nominated for this thing."
"Yeah, yeah," Kevin replied. "But we all know it'd be better to win."
"We will win," Neil said firmly, and everyone turned to look at him.
"I know it," He went on, and it was true. Some part of him did know it.
"Okay," Stuart said, a small smile dancing at the edge of his mouth. "Well, you'd best be off."
Kevin nodded and opened the passenger-side door to let Neil in, before striding around to get in the driver's side.
Stuart and David both walked down the drive, waving, as they set off. Neil waved back, and then they were gone.
...
It wasn't too long a drive. They listened to a sports news radio station for a bit, before Kevin switched to classical music. When they were more than half-way there, they stopped at a drive-through for burritos. Neil hadn't even realised how hungry he'd been until he started eating. He devoured the burrito in about five minutes.
Outside, the sky was blue and littered with huge, puffy, white clouds. Thick strips of orange sunlight cut through the car window. It was warm, and nice. Neil leaned his forehead against the glass and began to drift away. He woke up to Kevin's finger tapping his shoulder, the quiet static of the radio, and the pink glow of the sun beginning to set.
"We're here?" Neil asked.
"Yes," Kevin said, cutting off the engine. "Let's check in and get ready."
Kevin chatted to the hotel receptionist as Neil wandered around the lobby, groggy from his nap. Finally, Neil followed Kevin upstairs and into their twin room.
"My dad and I rented us suits," Kevin said, pulling two garment bags out of his huge hold-all.
"Suits?" Neil repeated. "I thought we were wearing our Exycast t-shirts."
"We can't wear t-shirts to an awards ceremony, Neil," Kevin told him, rolling his eyes.
Before Neil could protest, Kevin unzipped the bags to reveal the suits and laid Neil's on his bed.
He'd gotten Neil a light-coloured suit, the shade caught somewhere between blue and violet. Also inside the bag was a crisp white shirt and a light grey tie. Kevin had chosen a plain black suit with slim-fitting pants for himself, and had paired a cream-coloured shirt with an red-orange tie. Kevin headed to the bathroom to get ready, so Neil began changing too.
Neil stood in front of the full-length mirror fiddling with his tie. Kevin came out of the bathroom and started chatting about the other podcasts in their category.
"They're literally all true crime podcasts," Kevin said. "Is that a thing?"
"Apparently," Neil replied, re-tying his tie for a third time before Kevin batted his hand away and did it for him.
"You ready?" Kevin asked.
"As ready as I'll ever be," Neil answered, trying his best to sound calm.
"Let's go, then," Kevin said, jerking his head towards the door.
...
Kevin and Neil were seated at a table with some other students who made sports-related shows.
"You guys are in the newbie podcast category, right?" Said the guy sitting on Kevin's left.
"That's right," Kevin said, smiling.
"One hundred thousand hits," The guy went on. "That's impressive, man. Congrats."
"We made some good predictions," Kevin replied proudly.
Neil occasionally joined in with the excited chatter, but then the ceremony started and the room came to a hush. There were lots of categories to get through - for podcasts as well as radio shows, YouTube series and short films. Neil watched as the nominees were read out and winners were invited onto the stage to share a few words and collect their award. Neil swallowed hard and took a drink of water. He and Kevin hadn't spoken about what they'd say if they won.
Finally, the host got to the best newcomer podcast category.
"We have Columbia Crime Stories, The South Carolina Mystery Show, Unsolved USA, and Exycast," The host read out, as the logos of each podcast flashed up one-by-one on the screen behind him. Neil's hand tightened around his glass of water. Butterflies, wide-winged and frantic, swarmed in his stomach. Kevin turned to look at him, his expression unreadable.
"And the winner is..."
The pause seemed to stretch on for eternity.
"Exycast!" The host finished eventually, and Neil felt like the floor had shifted beneath him. He could sense the bright, violet spotlights finding them in the dark.
"Neil," Kevin said, nudging him with his elbow. "We have to get up there."
Neil nodded and hurried to stand. He followed Kevin to the stage, blinded by the lights.
They'd won, and now they were standing on the stage, awards being pressed into their hands.
"We'd just like to thank all our listeners," Kevin was saying into the microphone. "Without them, we wouldn't be here. Please keep tuning in. Neil?"
Neil smiled as Kevin handed him the microphone. His heart was hammering away but it wasn't as scary as he thought it would be, not really. He just imagined it were he and Kevin, back in the club room, passing the microphone between them, nothing to worry about.
"Thanks everyone," Neil said. "I started at Greenacre less than a year ago and I didn't really want to join a club, but they made me, so."
Neil paused as the ceremony-goers laughed at that. He pressed his lips together and took a deep breath.
"Luckily, I chose Exycast, and I met Kevin and we're able to chat about Exy as often as we want. Sometimes, people listen to us. But it wouldn't matter if they didn't. We love making Exycast and- well, just thanks for this. Thanks." Neil finished, pointing to the golden microphone statuette.
Kevin led him off the stage and the applauding seemed to last forever.
...
"I can't believe it," Kevin was saying, staring at the tiny gold microphone. "We won."
They were in their pyjamas, lying in their beds in their hotel room. Kevin was refusing to turn the light off, wanting to stare at his trophy instead of going to sleep.
"What do you think will happen to the podcast?" Neil muttered all of a sudden, looking over at his own trophy, which was lying on top of his crumpled suit on a chair in the corner.
"You mean after we graduate?"
"Yeah."
"Well, hopefully someone will take it over next year."
"And if not?"
Kevin shrugged.
"It's ours, Kevin," Neil said. "It would be a shame for it just to... die, after all our hard work."
"What can we do?" Kevin responded, leaning up on his elbows to face Neil. "We're going to college soon. Between classes and Exy, we won't have much time to work on it."
Neil hummed thoughtfully, hoping Kevin would drop that particular topic.
"Speaking of which," Kevin went on, to Neil's dismay, "have you made a decision yet?"
Neil thought about the pile of unopened envelopes on his bedside table.
"No," He said grumpily.
"We graduate in a couple of weeks, Neil."
"I'm aware."
"I thought you wanted to go to college."
"I did- I do."
"Then what?"
"It's just hard. I'm happy where we are, making the podcast, hanging out, hanging out with- with- never mind."
Kevin shot him an exasperated look and flopped back down on his bed.
"You could just ask him where he's going to school," Kevin mumbled, annoyed.
Neil huffed out a laugh and buried himself deep inside the blankets.
The room went quiet and eventually Kevin put his trophy aside and turned out the light.
Neil was nearly asleep when Kevin started talking again.
"If nobody takes over," He said slowly, "then we can talk about doing the podcast in college."
"Really?" Neil asked unsurely.
"We won't be able to do it as often as we do now, and we might have to invest in our own equipment, but yes. It would be a shame to let it go after we've worked so hard to build it up." Kevin continued.
"We don't have to make a decision yet," Neil replied softly.
"Right," Kevin replied. "Let's just see how it goes."
"Yeah," Neil agreed. "We'll see how it goes."
TWO.
When they got to school Monday morning, they were the centre of attention. The principal had made an announcement over the loudspeaker regarding their win and how it highlighted the importance of extra-curricular activities and fostered school spirit. Neil pulled a face at that and spent the rest of the day receiving enthusiastic congratulations from people he'd never spoken to before. It was a relief to finally make it to the club room. Kevin wasn't there yet, but the Monstrrr crew were.
Andrew was tossing a ball up in the air, lying down on the table, deep in thought. Aaron was napping on top of his sketchbook at the other end of the table, and Nicky was pacing excitedly, tapping at his phone at lightning-speed.
"Neil!" Nicky cried as he saw Neil enter the room. "Let us see your trophy! You did get a trophy, didn't you?"
Neil nodded and pulled his trophy out of his bag, handing it to Nicky. Nicky grabbed it and began taking photos to upload to Twitter. Neil ignored him and turned his attention to Andrew.
Since they'd gone on the date after the auction at the beginning of last year, nothing much else had happened between the two of them. Neil knew that at some point he probably should have asked about it, but the podcast took up so much of his energy, and by the time he'd figured it out, it seemed too late. Now they were graduating and might never see each other again. Neil watched Andrew, the ball soaring into the air and then dropping into his open palms, and felt his heart grow tight.
Never again would they bicker about Andrew being too loud during recording time. Never again would read terrible poetry to each other in stupid voices. Never again would they linger until they were the only two left in the club room, both of them too unsure to say anything, but comfortable enough in a silence that practically trembled with possibility.
You could just ask him where he's going to school, Kevin had said, like Kevin knew about anything. Sure, he and Thea were both going to PSU because they'd talked about it, but whatever.
"You working on the new issue?" Neil asked, reaching out to catch the ball before it landed in Andrew's hands.
Andrew's cool, bored gaze slid toward him, and Neil felt his heart flutter inside his chest as their eyes met.
"Yep," Andrew said eventually. "It's nearly finished."
"What will happen to the zine when you graduate?"
"Who cares?"
"Surely you do. You've worked on it for years. Don't you want to keep doing it?"
"I can do something else."
"Like what?"
Andrew shrugged.
"So this will be the last issue? Ever?"
"Didn't realise you were so sentimental."
"I'm not. It's just- it feels like it's really coming to an end, doesn't it?"
"It's not like anyone ever read it, anyway."
Neil thought about that. Other kids seemed keen to go to the fundraising events that Nicky organised and even to the monthly poetry slams that Andrew ran, but Neil rarely saw anyone reading Monstrrr.
"Then let's make them read it," Neil said.
"Are you proposing a scheme of some sort?" Andrew asked, twisting round to face Neil.
"Maybe," Neil replied. "Just make sure you print a lot of copies and let me know when they're done."
"You have my interest," Andrew said, bumping his knees against Neil's own.
Neil didn't move away and raised his eyebrows as if to say, you'll find out eventually.
Andrew huffed a sigh out through his nose and looked like he were about to lie back down on the table, so Neil pressed his knees harder against Andrew's to keep his attention. If he leant down and put his hands on either side of the table, they'd be close enough to touch, to kiss-
"Did you listen to the latest podcast?" Neil asked, unsure of what to talk about.
"I hate Exy," Andrew said, holding Neil's gaze.
"Yeah, but," Neil went on, letting his voice go quiet and soft, "you like it when I talk like this."
Andrew inhaled slowly, deeply, and grew still. Neil smirked, imagining the pleasurable shiver Andrew had just felt travel across his arms, up his neck, to finally spider-web across the back of his head.
"What are you doing?" Andrew bit out, a flush of pink blossoming on his cheeks.
Neil shrugged and backed away.
"Just let me know when the new issue is ready," He said, before walking back over to the podcast station.
Once he was seated, Neil turned around and saw Andrew looking flustered, burying his blushing face in the upturned collar of his leather jacket, just for a second, before he caught Neil watching. Then, he forced an unimpressed, unruffled front and grabbed the ball.
Kevin entered the club room a few minutes later and settled his trophy on the table.
"You have a trophy too, Kev?" Nicky shouted, thrilled. "Can I take a picture of them together?"
Kevin glowered at Nicky.
"Be careful with it," He ordered, passing it over as if it were the Holy Grail.
As Nicky scurried away with the second trophy, Kevin sat down and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"You get a lot of attention today?" Neil asked, retrieving his notebook from his bag.
"Some," Kevin replied, keeping one eye on Nicky.
"Better get used to it," Neil told him, flicking through their notes for the latest episode. "We're national award-winners now."
"We are, aren't we?" Kevin said, leaving Nicky be and offering Neil a resigned laugh.
...
[Andrew]: Not that it matters to me, but you said to let you know once the new issue was ready.
[Neil]: ???
[Andrew]: So, it's ready.
[Neil]: !!!
[Andrew]: Do you speak solely in punctuation now?
[Neil]: meet me on the roof in ten
[Andrew]: The roof?
[Andrew]: The school roof?
[Andrew]: Neil.
[Neil]: yes, the school roof
...
Neil was sitting cross-legged on the school roof enjoying the light breeze when Andrew approached carrying a large bundle of zines.
"How many are there?" Neil asked.
"One hundred and fifty. We blew our budget." Andrew replied.
Because you trust me, Neil thought to himself triumphantly.
"Good thing there are only a couple of weeks left," Neil told him.
Andrew shrugged and sat down next to Neil.
"You wanna tell me why we're up here?" Andrew asked finally.
"I'll show you when the bell goes."
"You skipping class to be here?"
"Are you?"
"As you say, good thing there are only a couple of weeks left."
Neil leaned back against the concrete and grinned. The day was warm, but the breeze was cool. Andrew was sitting next to him, their thighs only an inch apart. Their hands, splayed on the concrete, were even closer than that. Neil felt his heart beat fast in his chest. The urge to entwine Andrew's fingers with his own was overwhelming, but he held back.
You could just ask him where he's going to school, Kevin's words were pinballing around Neil's head.
"Are you going to keep doing poetry slams when you go to college?" Neil asked instead.
"Sure," Andrew said, dumping the zines between them and reaching into his jacket pocket to dig out a lollipop.
"Are you going to win any this time?"
"Yes."
"Yes?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't you ever ask me on another date?" Neil asked, the question tumbling out of his mouth before he had time to think about what he was saying.
The words cartwheeled in the air between them. Andrew's fingers stilled on the lollipop stick. He pulled it out of his mouth and wielded it at Neil.
"To use a phrase your tiny brain will understand," Andrew said drily. "The ball was firmly inside your Exy racquet."
Neil snorted, and Andrew scowled at him.
"I thought I'd left it too late," Neil told him.
"It wouldn't have been too late," Andrew said, before sucking in a hard breath. "It still wouldn't be too late."
Neil swallowed, his eyes widening. As he opened his mouth to respond, the bell rang.
"Shit," Neil muttered, standing up quickly. "Pass me some of those."
Andrew shot him a blank look but handed him a small bundle of zines.
Neil made his way to the edge of the roof and peered over to look at the ground beneath. Andrew sighed before joining him. They were right above the main door, and the final bell had just rang. Andrew flicked his gaze toward Neil. Neil grinned.
"You said nobody reads it," Neil said with a shrug.
Andrew reached down to pick up a pile of the zines. The title of the issue, see u never, was pasted across the front cover. The doors beneath them were opening.
"Let's make sure they can't ignore it," Neil finished, before tossing a handful of issues into the air.
Andrew followed Neil's lead and threw away the zines he was holding. They both watched as the pages fluttered to the ground, a paper rainstorm. They hit the floor just as the students were leaving the school. Neil grabbed another pile and threw it into the air.
"What the fuck-?" Neil heard someone yell as a zine landed on their head. Neil laughed and handed Andrew another pile. As they continued to toss the remaining issues over the edge, they saw students looking up, pointing, and recording on their smartphones. Some were turning the issue over in their hands, reading the cover. Others were flicking through the pages, confused. As the final copies soared through the air, Neil and Andrew took a step back, breathless.
Andrew looked at Neil like he wanted to punch him or slam him against a wall and make out with him. Neil couldn't really tell which but hoped for the latter.
"I told you they wouldn't be able to ignore it," Neil said, smirking.
"That was stupid," Andrew replied, taking a few steps towards Neil and closing the distance between them.
Neil reached out and tugged at the sleeve of Andrew's leather jacket. Andrew balled his fists in the front of Neil's Exycast t-shirt and pushed him away from the edge.
"Can I kiss you?" Neil asked, the question coming out all whispered and soft, gentle as the breeze.
"Yes," Andrew's reply was immediate.
Neil had never kissed anyone before. He looked to Andrew's lips, which were smudged pink from the lollipop. Neil supposed they tasted like candy and the thought wasn't unappealing. Andrew's hazel eyes were warm and wide, studying Neil carefully, as if committing every detail to memory. Neil inhaled sharply and ran his tongue over his own lips, feeling embarrassed. Andrew didn't say anything, waiting patiently.
"Here I go," Neil announced.
"Okay," Andrew replied. His hands were now flat against Neil's chest, the tips of his fingers digging in slightly. Neil slid his hands from where they were tangled in the leather of Andrew's jacket to place his hands against Andrew's hips.
"Is that okay?" He asked, circling the area gently.
"Yes," Andrew replied, and his voice was all worn down with want. It sent a shiver of longing through Neil. He leant down, his lips parted slightly, and kissed Andrew.
Their kiss was timid at first, slow and shy, until Andrew coaxed Neil's mouth open with his cherry-flavoured lips and started pushing Neil backwards until they bumped against the stairway wall. Then, their kiss deepened, Andrew's mouth hard and clumsy against Neil's. Neil pushed back, dizzy with desire, and managed to work his fingers into Andrew's hair. Andrew hummed pleasantly against Neil's lips so Neil wove his fingers in deeper. They kissed like that for a few minutes, fierce and messy, hands tangled in each other's hair, each other's clothes, Neil thinking that nothing could possibly feel as good as kissing when-
The rooftop door clattered open.
Andrew pulled away, nipping Neil's bottom lip with his teeth as he did so, and Neil leant back against the wall, attempting to look nonchalant. When they turned, they saw Kevin, Aaron and Nicky staring at them as if they were space aliens who'd just crash-landed there.
"Did you just chuck every copy of the final issue off the roof?" Aaron was asking, irritated, as Kevin stared at them, wide-mouthed.
"Yes," Andrew said, tucking up his collar and burying his hands in his pockets.
"It's all over Snapchat," Nicky exclaimed, shoving his phone in Andrew's face.
"I thought you guys should go out in style," Neil explained, feeling guilty all of a sudden. The three of them put a lot of hard work into Monstrrr. Maybe he'd made a mistake.
"I don't care," Nicky was saying, flicking through his Snaps. "I love a good spectacle."
"Well," Aaron said, "at least people are seeing it for once-"
"Shall we go back inside?" Kevin interrupted. "Flee the crime scene?"
"It's hardly a crime scene," Neil replied, rolling his eyes.
"It's mass littering at best," Nicky agreed.
"And not even that, as nearly every copy was taken by someone," Aaron went on.
"Let's just get back inside," Kevin said wearily.
The cousins started walking downstairs, but Kevin pulled Neil aside.
"I saw that," Kevin said. "The two of you."
"So?" Neil countered.
"So," Kevin replied, "have you asked him where he's going to college yet?"
"Not yet," Neil answered, thinking once again of those unopened envelopes on his bedside table.
Maybe tonight was the night he'd open them.
THREE.
Graduation day came around.
Stuart brewed a pot of Neil's favourite tea and made scrambled eggs on toast for breakfast. Neil stared at the college acceptance letters attached to the refrigerator door and wondered.
The drive to school was a blur. When he got to school, Stuart left to seek out David and Neil changed into his cap and gown before going to find Kevin. He found Kevin and Thea in the parking lot, chatting about how they were going to decorate their dorm rooms at PSU.
"Neil," Thea greeted him cheerily. "Have you decided where you're going to go to college?"
Neil shot Kevin a look as if to say, not her too, but Kevin just shrugged.
"I'm not sure yet," Neil replied. "I got into USC and Palmetto."
"Palmetto?" Thea repeated. "Then surely that settles it? You and Kevin can share a dorm, keep doing the podcast, try out for the team together?"
Neil looked at Kevin. Kevin raised an eyebrow questioningly. Kevin was Neil's best friend. He didn't want to hold Kevin back at college, didn't want to pressure him into continuing to make a stupid podcast that he nobody would care about in a few years. Yet, what Thea had suggested sounded great. Perfect, even.
"I'd like that," Neil said eventually. "If you want to."
"Why do you think I've been pushing you to make a decision?" Kevin asked.
"But-"
"I want to go to college with you. I want to try out for the Exy team with you, stay up late studying, try to continue Exycast if we can."
"Okay."
"Okay."
"We should take our seats," Thea told them, smiling.
The ceremony began. Kevin went up first, looking stoic in spite of the loud cheering that came from both his father and Thea. Nicky was next, shooting Neil a silly face as he caught he eye. Then, it was Neil. He silently accepted his diploma and looked out to the sea of faces. He felt calm, peaceful. The end had come and it didn't shock him as he thought it would. He had a future to look forward to. His eyes found Andrew's in the crowd. There was the hint of a question there, and Neil knew he had to answer it.
The twins went up, Andrew after Aaron, and they both looked as if they found the ceremony one of the dullest things in the entire universe. Thea followed not long after. Neil then tuned out as he didn't really care about anyone else. There was cheering and crying. Hats were tossed in the air. All Neil wanted to do was what he did every day: head to the club room. So he did.
He passed Stuart and David on his way there. Stuart's hand lingered on Neil's shoulder, giving it a tiny squeeze. Neil offered him a grateful smile in return. If Stuart hadn't made him start studying at Greenacre, things would be so different.
Neil entered the club room. Kevin was already at the podcast station, editing software pulled up. He couldn't rest until the new episode was perfect and uploaded. Nicky was in the corner, pouring what looked like vodka into an assortment of plastic cups. Aaron and Andrew were already disrobed and back to doing what they did best: Aaron scribbling away in his sketchbook, and Andrew playing a dumb game on his phone. Neil closed the door and everyone turned to look at him.
It dawned on Neil that it would be the last time he would walk through that door and see those same people waiting for him. He breathed in, and breathed out, not needing to memorise the moment but happy to be still, to be fleetingly permanent, within it.
"Neil, can you listen to this part when you get a second?" Kevin called over to him.
"In a bit," Neil replied, striding over to where Andrew sat.
"Where are you going to college?" Neil asked, folding his arms across his chest.
Andrew's fingers stopped tapping against the screen for a second. Then, he pressed pause and lifted his face so that he could focus his attention on Neil.
"Why do you care?"
"Don't you care about where I go?"
"Hardly. I can't stand the sight of you."
"Andrew."
"It would be nice to finally get some peace, actually."
"Andrew."
"Palmetto State. Creative Writing."
Neil couldn't stop himself from breaking out into a grin.
"And you?" Andrew drawled, suddenly extremely interested in picking a piece of lint from his jacket cuff.
"Languages," Neil replied teasingly. "At Palmetto as well."
"Languages?" Andrew repeated. "Fascinating."
"Is it still not too late to ask you on a second date?" Neil asked, and the question was a dare, a promise, trembling with possibility.
"No," Andrew replied without missing a beat.
"Good," Neil said, before going to help out Kevin with the editing.
Later, Nicky passed around terribly-mixed cocktails and they clashed their plastic cups together in a cheers. Andrew's eyes met Neil's as they drank.
Neil grinned, suddenly excited about college and dorm rooms and kissing.
The future was bright.